In this lesson, students will examine how interactions between science, politics, and economics influence media and social commentary on important science news. Specifically, it discusses how: 1) Personal and business interests can influence the public perception of certain news topics as presented in media coverage. 2) Science journalists are needed to write about a range of scientific topics, tie in additional context, and explain the political and social contexts of announcements in a way scientists alone may not be able to. 3) The media must sometimes rely on biased sources for information on issues like environmental policy and industry, potentially resulting in unbalanced or limited coverage of definitive scientific data.

1. Lesson 2: Objective
In Lesson 2 we will discuss instances when the
goals of political figures and the scientific
community could have swayed public interest
and media coverage of science news.
 Inthis lesson, students will examine how the
interactions between science, politics and
economics influence media and social
commentary of important science news.

2. Should science journalists exist?
 Why don’t scientists summarize their findings
and reports into comprehensive, yet simple
scientific articles? What is the need for the
science journalist?
 Does Science Need More Compelling Stories…?

3. Why we need science journalists
A. People need a strong story to connect with for an article to have
meaning. This often means introducing a compelling human story that
captures the attention of the reader and offers some level of comparison
for people who have had similar experiences with whatever particular
science topic is being discussed.
B. People can understand numbers, but they can’t empathize with them.
Scientists may have the greater understanding of scientific data, but
they may not be able to articulate that information to a general audience
as effectively as a trained journalist.
C. Science journalists write about a range of scientific topics and can
therefore tie in additional knowledge and explain the political and social
contexts of certain scientific announcements

4. Modern Coverage of Climate
Change
 Case Study: Climate Change and the Green Movement
 Political and economic entities have varying opinions of
what climate change is and what they need to do to
mitigate pollution caused by greenhouse gas emissions
 The media must sometimes rely on these biased sources
for information regarding environmental policy and
industry, resulting in unbalanced or scant coverage of
definitive global warming data
 Read the following:
 Environmental Coverage Driven by Politics

5. Class Video:
 Powered by Coal – 60 Minutes
(Watch from 15:30-21:30)
 How do the personal business interests of the
subjects in this video influence the public perception
of certain news topics?
 Form groups of 4-6 people and discuss the different
entities of influence featured in the video. Consider
how news coverage differed for each different industry
or group? Do you think the media is biased in its
coverage of climate change? How do pieces like this
influence public consumption of particular products?

6. Scientific Confirmation and Credibility
 Skeptics own study finds climate change
real – The Washington Post, Oct. 30
 Can we trust these results? They seem credible enough and
the study appears sound, but think about the role of the
journalist in this article. The story of the scientist is supported
by the journalist’s telling of his findings. Without the research,
background information, and interviews provided by the
journalist, these findings may be passed over, but the
emphasis placed on this particular case by the media
substantiates the scientific finding in the eyes of the public.

7. Climate Change and the Role of the Public
 The media has struggled to continue coverage of
climate change science because of a lack of
concrete data to support any definite conclusions
Have scientists been aggressive enough in
presenting climate change data? Or did the
press fail to report the important aspects of
climate change news? Think about these
questions as you read the article below:

8. Public Influence: Social Media and Climate
Change
 When media coverage of climate change became
stagnant, the public continued discussion of climate
change via social media. But how can the public
assess the accuracy of social media posts about
climate change, when both the media and scientific
community cannot provide concrete answers?
 Read the following blog post:
Social Media Driving Corporate Environmental Sustainability
 Find a recent scientific news topic that you find interesting. Login to
your Facebook or Twitter account and update your status. Use social
media to spread the word about your news story and start a
conversation with your peers.